Monthly Archives: September 2011

NASA and China: Another Space Race?

Posted on September 29, 2011 by asteitel

This morning, China took a significant step forward towards its goals in space with the launch of Tiangong 1 (pictured), a prototype of the nation’s planned space station. China is only the third nation to launch manned flights using its … Continue reading →

Posted in Manned Spaceflight | 4 Comments

Before This Decade is Out: Robotic Mars Edition

Posted on September 27, 2011 by asteitel

Decades make great sales tools. Kennedy used a decade timeframe to sell American on the moon in 1961. Robert Zubrin recently tried the same pitch and called for a manned mission to Mars by the end of a decade (Zubrin’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Planetary Science, Unmanned Spaceflight | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Carnival of Space #216

Posted on September 24, 2011 by asteitel

Welcome to another installment of the Carnival of Space! Some neat things on the table this week, so let’s get to it. (Not exactly a hover craft, Dave Scott practices how to manoeuvre in anticipation of an EVA. If you … Continue reading →

Posted in History of Space Science, Manned Spaceflight, Planetary Science, Unmanned Spaceflight | Tagged | 5 Comments

‘Going’ in Space

Posted on September 16, 2011 by asteitel

For the past few months, I’ve been contributing short articles to Motherboard. This week, I worked on a fun one I thought I ought to share: how to go to the bathroom in space and on the moon. I’ve put … Continue reading →

Posted in Apollo, Gemini, History of Space Science, Manned Spaceflight, Mercury | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

RATs and Monuments on Mars

Posted on September 11, 2011 by asteitel

In a previous post, I made the comment that I don’t necessarily think humans ought to colonize other planets; at least, not until we know a lot more about the environment upon which we intend to force ourselves. Manned exploration … Continue reading →

Posted in History of Space Science, Planetary Science, Unmanned Spaceflight | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

The Real Apollo 18

Posted on September 4, 2011 by asteitel

Conspiracy theorists have concocted some incredibly creative stories to explain why NASA has not returned to the moon since Apollo 17’s splashdown in 1972. Some suggest that aliens on the moon prevented or scared astronauts from ever returning while others … Continue reading →

Posted in Apollo, History of Space Science, Manned Spaceflight, Soviet | Tagged , , , , , , , | 25 Comments